Pryor Chronicles II Love Burns
by GrooveLord
Summary: Madelyne looks up an old friend of Nate's, gets a new secretary, and makes a decision.


Pryor Chronicles II - Love Burns  
  
All of the characters in this story are (c) Marvel Comics Group and (c)Warner Communications/DC Comics, respectively. This is meant to be a public domain work of fan fiction only, and no challenge is intended against the rights of the respective copyright holders.  
  
Please direct all feedback to the author, Chris Bell, at coridan@optonline.net . Plot and original characters (c) Chris Bell 2003. Distribution of this work for profit is illegal. Please do not archive this story without first contacting the author to obtain permission.  
  
Warning - While the story below does not contain violent or sexual situations, allusions to sexual situations and adult language are contained in the dialog. This story has a PG-13 rating.  
  
**************************************************************************************************************************  
  
It's the next day.  
  
The money in the bank accounts from the club is still there. But Shaw will most probably pull it soon.  
  
I pull my clothing on. Tight kidskin leather pants and thigh high leather boots, a sleeveless top that zips up to my neck. Opera length matching gloves. A leather jacket with lapels. Scott would squeak like a mouse if he knew I enjoyed these tastes before I become the Goblin Queen. However, I stayed out of the scene for a few years to get my pilots license, when I stumbled into Scott... Or, that is to say, was manipulated into meeting him by Sinister.  
  
Oh, can't forget that tiny little corset. Even though I religiously work out, the tight, snug feel it gives me is *so* nice.  
  
I'll deal with Xavier and his brood last. First, I want to contact some people who I know are relatively trustworthy.  
  
I carefully pack away Nate's stuff. A thought goes through my mind of whom I will share this with. Threnody, when I find her, perhaps. But Scott and Grey? Fuck Scott and his little wife. That whole X-Men crew is an incestuous little bunch.   
  
Madelyne, we're being a bit bitter, aren't we?  
  
Yes, we are. I bite my lip at the thought, smiling.  
  
As I fold up Nate's clothes, I occasionally hold them to my cheek. God, he's gone. Not gone, but he may as well be dead.  
  
It occurs to me that Nate wouldn't want me to be quite this bitter.  
  
I will make my peace with them, so that when I do decide to take the next turn in my life, it will be without the baggage of Scott Summers and his happy crew.  
  
I could also feel the heat and the passion of the Phoenix burn within me. It was even said that I could become as powerful as Nate, given time. It's just only a small, small spark. Jean Grey came back to life. Perhaps that's why I did as well.  
  
But, what would I do with this power? Will I become the Goblin Queen, in truth?  
  
Well, what ever I become, it will be from my own choice.  
  
Now, to make a few phone calls.  
  
**********************************************************************************************************************  
  
I hear a voice on the other end of the phone. "Hiya. MJ here."  
  
"Parker residence, I presume?"  
  
The voice on the other end is somewhat giddy. Hm. Yes, his wife was always a bubblehead.  
  
"Yeah. What can I do for you?"  
  
I sigh, curled up on the couch.  
  
"May I speak with Peter, please?"  
  
I can hear a pot boiling on the other end. "Sure!" She squeaks. "Tiger, it's for you!"  
  
After a moment, another voice comes on the phone.  
  
"Hi. Peter Parker here."  
  
"Mister Parker," I reply. I knew that Nate had worked with Spiderman, when he had just come to New York. I was involved with the Hellfire club at the time. Of course, from Nate's memories and what he had given me before joining the world, I now knew the identity of the world famous Spider-Man.  
  
"Um, pardon me, have we met?"  
  
I run a tongue over my lower lip. "Not exactly. I'm… someone who was close, to Nate Grey."  
  
There's silence, for a moment.  
  
"And he needs help?"  
  
I bite my lip. "Not exactly, Mister Parker. Nate is dead, after a fashion. Or immortal, dependant on your point of view."  
  
More silence.  
  
"Meet me at St Patrick's cathedral, in 2 hours. Take this cell phone number, in case you can't make it. I'll be there."  
  
I hang up the phone.  
  
Here, all alone, in this apartment which has been empty for nine months, but was once our home, I break down, and start to cry again. I howl and hug a pillow, all alone.  
  
*************************************************************************************************************************  
  
I'm now in St Patrick's Cathedral, lighting candles.  
  
Parker kneels down next to me. He's as Nate's memories describe, and his mental resonance matches.  
  
He crosses himself and lights a candle.  
  
There's an uncomfortable silence. Here, I choose to wear my cloak, my face concealed.  
  
"You must be Madelyne," he says in a measured tone.  
  
He knows the X-Men. He knows who I am.  
  
"So, how did it happen?"  
  
I open my mouth to speak. I find curiously that it's hard. I compose a sentence in my mind, but a lump rises in my throat. Of course, I restrain myself before I speak. I will not embarrass myself in front of this person.  
  
"I could go into the details, but, essentially, he gave his life for the world. He sacrificed himself so that a harvester could not reap this world like it was a field of wheat. His energy, personality, and psychic matrix are now part of all life on this world. Mutant and human alike, he lives within all of us."  
  
Parker lights candles. "How do I know that you're telling me the truth?"  
  
'Peter, you don't. However, if I meant you harm, you'd know it."  
  
I drop that brick like hint. He narrows his eyes. But he doesn't say anything.  
  
"Nate always spoke well of you. He always said that you were always a loyal friend. Loyalty is something damned rare in this world. You're the first I've told."  
  
Parker rubs the back of his head. "Not even the X-Men know?"  
  
'Hell no." I reply.  
  
There's another long, uncomfortable silence.  
  
"And you're going to tell them?"  
  
I hiss. "That, Parker, is none of your business. That's between me and the X-Men. However, he cared for you, and you deserved to know. He wishes happiness for you, and your wife."  
  
I stand.  
  
"One more thing", I say, my back to him. The shadows of the cathedral move as the candles flicker. "You know who Threnody was, don't you?'  
  
Parker stands as well. He cracks his knuckles, perhaps sensing an implied threat. "Yes, I do. You had best leave her alone."  
  
He's presuming nicely.  
  
My back is still to him. "She bares his child. There are those who would make use of the child. I will protect that child, and his beloved, with my last breath. I'm not like one of your melodramatic villains, Parker, so don't confuse me with the likes of Doctor Octopus and Electro. If you hear word of them, let me know. I doubt you alone can protect them from those who would seek to make use of them." I pause. " Although any help would be appreciated." He's been through as much as I've been, if the news is to be believed, and is a superb combatant. I may have need of him in the future.  
  
"Allright, lady. It's between you and me. He never said it, but I could tell he loved you, a hell of a lot. So I can tell that there must be something going on, you don't seem to be the same crazy witch that nearly destroyed the Manhattan a few years ago. Doctor Strange said you were under control of some demon. Luckily, no one got killed."  
  
He cracks his knuckles again. "But, I don't entirely trust you. If this is some bullshit trick, I'll deal with you, and shut you down, for good."  
  
I turn, my eyes meeting his, from under my cloak.   
  
"You have no idea of the power you're dealing with, do you?"  
  
He laughed.   
  
"That's what Firelord said."  
  
In the church, I laughed. So did he.  
  
"All right! All right. Enough melodrama. I spend too much time around speech makers."  
  
Peter extends his hand to me. "Peter Parker. Damn glad to meet you."  
  
I smile. "Madelyne Pryor. A pleasure."  
  
He looked me up and down. "Don't you feel weird, dressing like that in a church?"  
  
He smiles this disarming smile.  
  
I laugh again. "This is what I am. What's wrong with liking a bit of kink?"  
  
"Listen," he says. "I know this place down on 33rd, by the Garden. Let's get a drink, and remember Nate."  
  
I smile again. "yes, lets."  
  
Parker and I take a cab downtown, to Herald Square. We settle into a pub booth. He tells me some stories about the time he and Nate had worked together, and about Nate's natural, almost unthinking heroism and courage. It occurs to me that Spider-Man here was Nate's mentor in heroism, although neither of them knew it.  
  
I share my first meeting with him, when I was summoned from the ether and to a small cabin in the alps. Between us getting chased by Psi Ops and Nate dealing with the leftovers from the Age of Apocalypse, I tell him some funny stories of hijinks in Dublin.  
  
"Um..."  
  
"What's on your mind, Peter?"  
  
He blushes. "No, I shouldn't ask."  
  
"What?"   
  
"Did you two... um..."  
  
I smile and close my eyes. "No. But, God, I wish I did. That boy had an ass on him. For all the times that we've dropped to sleep next to each other, and seen each other naked, we should have been lovers. It never occurred to us, with the his trying to tell up from down and my particularly paranoid state of mind."  
  
"As opposed to the way you are now."  
  
I blinked.  
  
"He used to say that, when you thought he wasn't looking, you had this sad, far away look. I think he'd be glad that you're laughing."  
  
I sigh and smile. "You know, wall crawler? You're right."  
  
"To my boy, Nate Grey." I raise my remy to meet his rum and coke.  
  
"To Nate." Parker clinks his glass to mine.  
  
Parker and I part on amicable terms. I fell into trusting him.  
  
That was a particularly good feeling.  
  
However, there's another step to be taken.  
  
Once I get home, I make another phone call.  
  
After a few rings, a voice answers. "Hellfire club, New York Chapter Branch, Tessa speaking."  
  
"Tessa", I say.  
  
'Madelyne!"  
  
"Yes, in the flesh."  
  
She pauses. "How have you been? Mister Shaw will be pleased to know that you are well."  
  
"Tessa," I say, each word rolling off my tongue. "I'm resigning from the Club."  
  
She laughs. "Surely you're joking. No one resigns from the club."  
  
"There's a reason why I called, Tessa. I wanted to speak with you. By now, you've no doubt overcome the psionic blocks I placed on you."  
  
There's a chill silence over the phone.  
  
"Although I didn't know it at the time, there's a reason why I didn't kill you. You were actually trying to help me. You saw that I was lost, and actually gave a shit."  
  
I hear her breathe.  
  
"I have a proposal for you. I need someone with your talents. I have a few things I need to do. Would you like to come and work for me?"  
  
I can hear her breathing rapidly. "He'll kill me."  
  
I say, "I'll protect you from him."  
  
She pauses again. I add, "Do you want to live in terror all your life, or do you want to be free? You've been a toy of his, for, how many years? Once you've worked with me, I'd like to see you stand on your own. That Hellfire club is nothing but a pack of hyenas and pretend manipulators." I pause, almost finding it hard to say these next words. "I want to be involved in something that's more noble than what they stand for. I want to do something that will have a lasting impact, a legacy that will show that my life was more than a mere accident."  
  
After letting a few seconds pass for effect, I say, "What do you want for yourself, Tessa?"  
  
"Look at the caller id. This is a special number I had set up, using club resources. It's fairly well hidden and untraceable. If you want out, let me know. I'll expect loyalty, but I will never raise my hand to you, Tessa, unlike the way he has."  
  
Another long pause.  
  
"Very well." I can hear her swallow. "What do I have to do?"  
  
My lips curl into a smile. I speak into the phone. "This is the plan."  
  
With that, 10 percent of the assets of Shaw industries are moved to special Cayman Island accounts, under false names, aliases, and difficult to trace vehicles. Given the wealth of Shaw, he probably won't even notice it missing for several weeks. Tessa was trusted too much. I had looked into her mind before, and I knew she wanted to be free. I was going to give her that freedom.  
  
She shows up at my doorstep. She has her bags, and looks frightened for her life.  
  
"Come on in. Take a seat. Can I get you something?"  
  
She sits on the couch, trying to look brave. "He's going to kill both of us, you know."  
  
I get her some hot earl grey. "Well, I've been dead before. It's no big thing for me."  
  
I sit next to her on the couch. "You could have just come over to the New York chapter house, and psionically manipulated me into making the transfers. I'm a liability at this point. Why are you doing this?"  
  
I straighten up. "Because, I can not abide anyone being made use of as a tool or a toy. It reminds me too much of the my... own crimes. (For a moment, I remember Alex Summers, and how he was my half lover, half toy.)  
  
She straightens. "Very well, Madam. Thank you. What is it that you require?"  
  
I pull open the shades, looking down onto the New York City skyline. "First, secure us some suitable quarters. I was thinking perhaps San Francisco. Also, I want a small place, a loft, in Dublin."  
  
She pays attention. I know she has the mutant power to remember anything in perfect detail that she hears or sees. "Yes, Madam." She pulls out a laptop from her bag, and powers it up. " In regards to Dublin, May I ask why?"  
  
"Sentimental value," I say.   
  
I will find your son, Nate. If it's the last thing I do, I will protect the flesh and blood of the one man I loved, who ever loved me back.  
  
It occurs to me, in the back of my mind, that this child may well be the pivot of all the mutant wars. Magneto, Shaw, Xavier. They'll all want the child.  
  
A fury unlike any I've felt grows within me. I'll not have Threnody go through what I did. Her child shall remain hers, damn all of them.  
  
And, as much as it galls me, I will need to ask Charles Xavier for help.  
  
Any who would harm those I love, I will burn in my fire.  
  
Chris Bell  
  
6/2003 


End file.
